The Study ‘Current & Future Employment Assistance Needs of Indigenous People in the Shepparton Region’ was commissioned in 2004-2005 by GANBINA to ascertain the effectiveness of current employment placement initiatives in the Goulburn Valley.

It provides projections of the region’s Indigenous working-age population and labour force for the years 2006, 2011 and 2016, in order to establish the level of employment assistance resources required to service the region’s growing Indigenous labour force.

The report was written by Dr. Katrina Alford B.A, B. Ed postgrad, Ph.D. as an update to her ‘Shepparton Regional Indigenous Community Employment & Development Strategies’ study published in 2002.

Key findings and conclusions include:

	Confirmation that census data significantly understates the indigenous population. According to the 2001 census there were 1,365 Indigenous people living in the City of Greater Shepparton (2.7% of the region’s total population). Alternative sources indicate a local indigenous population of 4,119 (7.4% of the total).
	Only one-third (36.3%) of Indigenous youths in the compulsory secondary school years (Year 7-10) may be enrolled in schools. Many Indigenous students apparently leave the school system either altogether after primary school, or in very early secondary school.
	Indigenous unemployment rates in the region are very high, ranging between 68% and 78%, 10 times higher than non-Indigenous rates.
	There are systemic flaws in the current provision of employment assistance for Indigenous job seekers, including Limited capacity/resources, & A fragmented approach to Indigenous job seekers.
	Indigenous job seekers are 8.4% of registrations at Centrelink Goulburn Valley but account for only 3.5% of job placements.
	If the status quo regarding specialist employment assistance for Indigenous job seekers is maintained, unemployment and associated costs will increase dramatically. The direct costs to government of Indigenous welfare and CDEP payments in the Shepparton region were an estimated $2.8 million in 2001, $3.4 million in 2004, and increasing to an estimated $4 million by 2011. Indirect costs including foregone output and tax revenue raise the overall costs again.